Shin lost to Britta Heidemann in the semi-final's last second despite the German appearing to have at least two separate attempts to strike her while the clock did not change.

A 75-minute protest on the piste was followed up officially by her national Olympic committee. According to a release from the event's technical director (DT) South Korea's protest questioned the timekeeping. It said: "Dear DT members, [I] can't agree with the decision of the referee because [the clock] rested [on] one second and there were three [movements]. [The] German fencer attempted [to score] but one second [remains]. It can't be possible during one second [to have] four actions. Who can believe this situation? I want [to] fix this situation [regarding] calculating time. Korean team cannot accept this situation."

The technical director's verdict was: "The Korean delegation has made a protest concerning the semi-final between Heidemann (Ger) and Shin (Kor) claiming that the timekeeping was deficient during the extra minute. According to [regulations] it is for the referee to decide how much time remains. The referee confirmed the last hit. Neither the DT or the refereeing delegations can change a question of fact. The DT decides to reject the protest."

In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, the International Fencing Federation confirmed that the technical director's decision was final.

The South Korean Olympic committee said the sport's governing body had offered to recognize Shin's sportsmanship.

"They are very sorry and sympathetic to her and they have to recognize her fairness and following the Olympic movement spirit," the committee president, Park Yong-sung, said. "They are going to recognise it with some kind of event."